Good morning…
Sitting with two of his three siblings, I witnessed our youngest son get his high school diploma. Hidden beneath my mask, can you envision my proud-momma smile? It was certainly a memorable, one-of-a-kind celebration. Outside in the football stadium. Social distanced, wearing masks. 80% chance of rain earlier in the week turned to delightfully cloudy with a bit of a breeze. The much-anticipated event was well organized and painstakingly prepared to keep people safe in the midst of a global pandemic.
After bagpipes led the class of 2020 into the stadium to sit social distanced on the track, the headmaster, the board chair, and two graduating classmates shared words of encouragement before my husband, the school chaplain, said a blessing over the physically distanced crowd. The words of wisdom shared by each speaker morphed together in my mind, bestowing a lasting blessing this morning after.
“Finally, finally we gather to celebrate. As a class, you have lost a lot. No spring sports or performances. No prom. No senior skip day. No pond-jump. No final chapel. No graduation photos with extended family. None of the beloved traditions many of you have been looking forward to since lower school. You as a class have responded beautifully to hard things, supported each other in creative ways, shown tremendous resilience, and displayed a willingness to learn more deeply that “Black lives matter.” Let us take time in silence to grieve those we have lost. It is hope that heals and inspires. We do well to live the motto we learned in kindergarten: “Work hard and be kind.” Our continued blessing goes with you into your bright future. This school will always be a home to return to. We cannot wait to see the way each of you spread out to transform our world.”
This one-of-a-kind celebration was extra special for our family since my husband was on stage to hug congratulations before our youngest child received his diploma. Then both of them walked up the stadium stairs into a new life phase. Our son to his college career. My husband to our emptying nest.
This morning I think, “Life, at its core, is a just string of one-of-a-kind celebrations. Isn’t it?”
When we look at each day as a unique day to celebrate, to hope and to inspire, to work hard and to be kind, we will continue to grow mutual support and to learn real resilience. Celebrating our shared daily journey into our bright future, we will each do our God-given part, spreading out to transform the world.
You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you’re still one body. It’s exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything…Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive (1 Corinthians 12:12-13, MSG).
Celebrating every single day of our ordinary lives, God is the “something larger, more comprehensive” beckoning all of us into our bright, expansive future together.
…Sue…
